


seven days after the end of the world

by DuendeJunior



Category: Neon Genesis Evangelion
Genre: End of the World, Introspection, Kaworu's True Form, M/M, Post-The End of Evangelion
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-22
Updated: 2019-07-22
Packaged: 2020-07-10 13:27:18
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 476
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19906444
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DuendeJunior/pseuds/DuendeJunior
Summary: an angel finds Shinji at the beach.





	seven days after the end of the world

**Author's Note:**

> that's what happens when I watch Good Omens and then go looking for art about the true form of angels and then start retweeting all the NGE art I can find. classic cocktail. rated as G but really I have no idea.  
> for morgana, as always.

Seven days after the end of the world, an angel finds Shinji at the beach.

“Fear not!” It says, its shadow falling over the sand like a cloak.

Shinji looks up and sees a dozen eyes, all blinking slowly, striking as explosions. The creature has eyes and arms and wings and no visible mouth to speak of. It stands on the rising tide, and it’s taller than most buildings Shinji has seen, but smaller than Rei ( _who was Lilith who was Kaworu who—_ ).

Shinji’s never seen this face before, but he has heard this voice.

“Kaworu-kun.”

The creature with no mouth smiles down at him.

“Shinji-kun.”

He walks towards Shinji as if they have all the time in the world, sand flying around them as he sits down. The horizon shifts before them as the sun makes its path across the sky, thin wisps of clouds trying to obscure it now and then. It might rain for the first time in a few days, Shinji muses.

“I should have known you wouldn’t be afraid,” Kaworu says, his voice almost human. Shinji keeps his eyes glued to his own knees and doesn’t look at him as he answers.

“I’m not sure I still have any fear in me.”

It’s a new world, with nothing much to fear. Gendo Ikari is no more and might never be again. Asuka refuses to be near him, thus giving no opportunities for old trepidations to arise (and Shinji won’t begrudge her that). And Shinji can’t find it in himself to care about the possibilities brought by this new beginning, not really.

Most of all, he feels tired beyond words.

Beside him, there’s a minute shift in the air. A heartbeat later, cool fingers touch his arm, right where his thin sleeves end, and the fine hairs on his skin stand on end.

“You haven’t slept much lately, have you?” Kaworu asks. He squeezes Shinji’s forearm a little, and all of Shinji’s senses come roaring back to life.

Finally, Shinji looks at him — his red eyes, his ashen hair, the sharp angles of his body. He doesn’t seem capable of such gentleness, and _yet_.

“I can’t. I haven’t slept since…” He trails off with a gesture that encompasses the whole beach, the horizon and beyond, knowing that Kaworu understands.

Shinji feels him scooting closer. The remaining space between their bodies thrums with energy like the strings of his old cello.

“You can sleep now. I’ll keep watch.”

Shinji blinks, staring at those still-brilliant eyes. Rei who was Lilith who was Kaworu stares back at him from another point in time. Perhaps he shouldn’t trust him.

Perhaps.

But.

“Okay,” Shinji says, voice soft. He lets his head fall on Kaworu’s shoulder, and it’s like a piece that has found the puzzle it fits into, at long last.

He closes his eyes, and breathes.


End file.
